The present invention is concerned with the mounting of transparencies such as photographic films or negatives and X-ray films. Among the many considerations for devising the best system of mounting transparencies are the convenient viewing, the storage of the transparency during periods of non-use and the ability to readily retrieve a desired transparency from storage. In general, transparencies such as X-ray films, particularly dental X-rays which are relatively small, are placed in a folder which, in turn, is inserted in a drawer during storage. The individual transparencies rest at the bottom of the folder one in front of the other. This practice is particularly wasteful from a space standpoint since an appreciable thickness results at the bottom of the folder where the transparencies are with the remainder of the folder being virtually empty. A further difficulty with such storage practice is the inconvenience of readily identifying a specific transparency so that it can be conveniently retrieved for viewing.
Many attempts have been made to improve the conventional practices of viewing and storing transparencies. These practices have included the utilization of adhesive material for mounting the transparencies to a support member. In general this approach is disadvantageous since the adhesive material is applied at specific locations by the manufacturer which, in turn, dictates to the user specifically where on the support member the transparency is to be mounted. A further disadvantage is that the adhesive material itself may have high tack characteristics which would necessitate leaving the film on the support member once it has been mounted. This, in turn, would render the mounting arrangement into a single use device.
Various approaches for mounting transparencies or other devices are exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,730,883, 2,107,738, 3,564,745, 3,997,994, 4,106,230, 4,156,978 and 4,507,166.